Eyes to See

Some time ago, my friend Daisy Holt gave me a stack of old comic strips she had saved from newspapers over the years. As I was thumbing through them I found two next two each other that formed a beautiful contrast. 

The first was Winnie the Pooh. In this comic, Pooh asks Eeyore, “Why do you always expect the worst, Eeyore?” Eeyore answers, “You’ve got me all wrong, Pooh! I don’t expect the worst… I depend on it!”

The second comic was Peanuts. Snoopy’s cousin is writing to him from the desert: 

“Dear Snoopy, Life here in the desert is hard but wonderful. Sometimes it is very hot…” The cousin sits with his tongue out and eyes crossed… sun beating down. The letter continues, “And the nights can be very cold. Sometimes we have rain and sudden flash floods. Sometimes it even snows. But there are always beautiful places to walk and things to see… And when I return home… I always have a place to hang my hat.” In the last frame, his hat is hanging on a cactus!

What a contrast between Eeyore and Snoopy’s cousin. The cousin, in spite of extreme hardship, somehow manages to keep gratitude alive in his heart.

Let us pray: God of Grace, it is true that life is often hard – but also wonderful. Even when we get beat down by the weather, by our health, or by ugly circumstances give us eyes to see beauty and grace and love at work. Remind us of all that you have done for us that we would be filled with gratitude. Thank you for your providence and love through Jesus Christ. Amen.